Typically heat sinks are mounted to an outer surface of an integrated circuit (I.C.) package to facilitate the dissipation of heat from the integrated circuit contained within the package. Most heat sinks are thermally conductive and have a plurality of extruded fins to provide a large surface area, which allows heat to be more efficiently dissipated by natural or forced convection. To provide for efficient heat transfer from the I.C. package to the heat sink, spring clamps are used to press the heat sink in close contact with the I.C. package.
There are a variety of methods known to attach heat sinks to packages by means of spring clamps. One such method employing a torsional spring for clamping the heat sink is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,735 issued Apr. 1, 1997 to Yoshida et al. While such torsional spring provide an inexpensive, low-profile means for heat sink clamping, an efficient and compact tool for compressing the torsional spring is needed.